Whiting, IN – On Saturday April 11, members of Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) and Jobs with Justice Chicago (JwJ Chicago) traveled to Whiting, Indiana to stand in solidarity with the over 800 United Steelworkers (USW) Local 7-1 members who have been facing an illegal lockout by British Petroleum (BP) since March 19.

USW members warmly welcomed the supporters and were anxious to share their story about a fight with one of the most powerful corporations in the world. Despite the vast wealth of the bosses at BP, the locked-out USW members are confident that worker solidarity will prevail in the end.

BP and USW Local 7-1 have been bargaining over a new contract since January 2026. On March 2, BP came to the table with an offer that USW says showed they were not negotiating in good faith with the union. BP’s offer would expand managerial rights significantly, reduce hourly wages, replace seniority-based promotions with promotions only granted after training given by management, and eliminate other bargaining unit rights. The contract proposal from BP would also eliminate around 100 jobs.

BP’s offer was rejected by the USW members through a 98% no vote on March 12. On March 13, BP came back to the table with a revised offer that the USW members say was worse than the March 2 offer. This new offer was also rejected by the union’s negotiating committee on March 17.

On March 19, the BP responded by illegally locking out the USW members. Since the lockout began, BP management has since been making statements to the public about the negotiations and lockout that USW members say have been misleading, and has refused to return to the table and negotiate in good faith.

USW District 7 Director Mike Milsap said, “In its drive to lower staffing levels and implement wage cuts, BP is choosing confrontation and gambling the community safety on inexperienced replacement workers. The lockout is a direct attack on workers’ rights and an attempt to weaken the bargaining power of the very people who can make this facility successful. We are standing united and will not back down from securing a fair agreement.”

BP has brought in hundreds of out-of-state scabs who lack the training and experience of the USW members who regularly run the refinery, posing a risk to public safety for the community of Whiting.

What stood out as the largest concern in BP’s unreasonable offer was the expansion of managerial rights. This would increase BP’s ability to undermine the contract if it was ratified and would defeat the purpose of that contract entirely. USW members say that if they signed that contract they would become a union only on paper with no real rights inside the massive BP oil refinery.

USW Local 7-1 members are preparing for a long fight ahead. In 2021-2022, USW Local 13-243 in Beaumont, Texas faced a ten-month lockout and a campaign by ExxonMobil management to try to push employees to decertify the union. Management from the Exxon refinery in Beaumont have been brought into the BP Whiting refinery during the current clash.

Despite BP’s history of attacks on unions, USW International President Roxanne Brown was defiant and said, “Generations of union members have kept this refinery running safely and efficiently, and they deserve a contract that reflects their value – not intimidation tactics designed to force concessions.”

USW is accepting donations at United Steelworkers Local 7-1, Inc., Strike and Defense Fund, 2045 Schrage Ave, Whiting, IN 46394

#WhitingIN #IN #Labor #Lockout #USW #USW71 #Featured

Los Angeles, CA – In the early morning hours of April 1, East Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputies shot and killed 29-year-old Erik Torres while he was going through a mental health crisis. Although Torres was unarmed and needed help, deputies murdered him.

Local media outlets incorrectly reported that an exchange of gunfire occurred between Torres and deputies, resulting in an hours-long standoff. However, this initial report that Torres was armed, and that an exchange of gunfire occurred with deputies has been proven false.

The case is now being investigated by the California Department of Justice and Attorney General Rob Bonta, pursuant under California Assembly Bill 1506 (AB 1506), which requires the department to investigate, “all incidents of an officer-involved shooting resulting in the death of an unarmed civilian in the state,” per the Office of the Attorney General website.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department deputies have even had to admit this: Eric Torres did not have a gun when he was shot and killed, and there was no “exchange of gunfire.” The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department murdered Erick Torres in cold blood.

In the aftermath of the fatal shooting, members of Centro CSO made contact with the family, who immediately dismissed the narrative being pushed by the media and the department. Torres’ brother made it known that deputies from the Sheriff's Department had routinely responded to calls at the Torres residence, and were aware of his brother’s mental health struggles. The night of the incident, the family made it known to deputies that Torres was unarmed, but deputies disregarded this information and killed him anyway.

Chicanos on the Eastside know all too well that the East Los Angeles Sheriff’s Station – home of the Banditos gang – is infamous for officers’ aggressive, violent behavior and long history of killing young Chicano men. Deputies out of the East LA Station have killed those experiencing mental health crises in the past, instead of getting them the help they deserve.

#LosAngelesCA #CA #EastLA #InjusticeSystem #LASD #OppressedNationalities #Featured

The Anti War Action Network (AWAN) called for a national day of action on Tax Day, April 15, to protest Trump’s costly war on Iran. President Trump has asked Congress to authorize an additional $200 billion for his war on Iran while at the same time cutting funding to scientific research, environmental protection, and various social programs including housing assistance, Medicaid and SNAP.

From the AWAN post on their Instagram @antiwaractionnetwork, “Organize an action in your community for Tax Day – April 15th – to show that we want our tax dollars spent on human needs like education and healthcare instead of bombing schools and destroying hospitals in Iran!”

Rae Minji, an organizer with Seattle Against War (SAW), said, “Mainstream media constantly lies to Americans the extent to which their tax dollars have been used for purposes that have nothing to do with national security and everything to do with the interests of the billionaires. We have a right to have a say in how our taxes are invested, and in order to make that a reality, we need to expose the actors responsible for the constant flow of our taxes dollars to bombs and genocide.”

Minji continued, “In SAW, we are flyering commuters in Washington Congressional District 9, which is the seat of Representative Adam Smith, one of the politicians who has been saying a lot about stopping Trump’s war on Iran, but hasn’t done anything meaningful. And no wonder: he personally benefits from war. His campaign funding almost entirely comes from AIPAC, Palantir, and other war-profiteering companies, and he operates the U.S. Military and Defense PAC. The hypocrisy is laughable.”

Cities participating include New York City, Chicago, Minneapolis, Tucson, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Washington D.C., Seattle, Dallas/Fort Worth, Tulsa, New Orleans, Jacksonville and Grand Rapids.

#AWAN #AntiWarMovement #TaxDay #Iran #NationalDayofAction #Featured

Portland, OR – On April 4, angry protesters marched to Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s house, demanding he revoke the conditional land use permit for the ICE detention facility. The protest, organized by Portland Contra las Deportaciones (PDXCD), began at Wilshire Park and drew a crowd of over 50 in front of the mayor’s home.

The city of Portland issued a land use violation of the permit to the facility on Macadam Avenue in September 2025, after public pressure as the city faced threats of the deployment of the National Guard. Since then, Wilson has allowed landowner Stuart Lindquist to stall the process and appeal the violation to delay any consequences.

In March, the ICE facility landowner, Lindquist, rescinded his appeal to the city’s upholding of the land use violation, meaning Portland officials can begin enforcing the fine at any time. Protesters condemn the lack of enforcement by their city leaders.

During this time, Portland has faced increased immigration enforcement with violent detentions peaking in the fall of 2025. In January 2026, two immigrants were shot by ICE in Portland, and many others faced unlawful and brutal kidnappings.

Andrew Nourie with Freedom Road Socialist Organization told the crowd, “For the last year, Portland has been under attack by the federal government. The people have demanded action from our mayor and the city government, and in response we’ve received silence and a clear commitment to business as usual.”

PDXCD has sent over 1000 emails to the mayor requesting he take action and heard nothing from him for months. After protesters marched to his home in early February, his team reached out to the organization to coordinate a meeting.

Isabella Shepherd, one of the founding members of the campaign to Revoke the ICE Permit, said at the rally: “He insisted on bringing 15 other people [to the meeting] from other groups to argue with the four of us he allowed us to bring, so he wouldn’t have to say any of his own vile opinions out loud himself.”

Members of the campaign say the meeting made it clear the mayor is committed to keeping the ICE facility open, which is why they’ve returned to protest at his house.

The crowd chanted, “Keith Wilson, do your job!” as they occupied the street in front of his home for over an hour. Cars driving by honked their support, and a small crowd of supportive neighbors and passersby formed on a nearby street.

Activists dumped spent munitions ICE used on protesters during this last year on the front porch of the mayor’s house, yelling “No justice, no peace!” saying there will not be peace at home for Wilson while immigrants are terrorized by ICE in their homes.

Sage Joyce with PDXCD said the group brought the canisters because “Keith Wilson should not have freedom from chemical munitions he allows to be used against Portlanders who dare to stand up to ICE!”

Organizers said they are determined to keep up pressure on the city of Portland to move forward in the land use violation process for the ICE facility.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #ICE #PDXCD #KeithWilson #Featured

Englewood, CO – On April 1, teachers and faculty across five schools of the Sheridan School District went on strike demanding union recognition and the reinstatement of their contract. Over 100 teachers, faculty and community members walked the picket lines demanding that the school district come back to the table for negotiations.

Tensions rose earlier this year when the school district passed a policy that stated they would not recognize staff without licenses in the union. That means school custodians, paraprofessionals on staff, bus drivers – workers who all keep the district’s schools running and operational – were not able to join. When contract negotiations fell apart, 98% of members voted to strike. While the Sheridan School District initially claimed that schools would stay open while the strike was ongoing, the school district was forced to cancel classes through the end of the week due to low staffing.

Kate Biester, president of the Sheridan Educators Association, reflecting on the start of the strike, said, “When we lost our contract for the teachers, it also lost what the district was giving in good faith to the rest of their workers – and we decided that wasn't good enough anymore. And we need to fully enfranchise all of the workers in our school district and give them all bargaining rights.”

According to the union, students and the local community have been very important every step of the way. Earlier this year, high school students in Sheridan School District walked out in support of the teachers, and elementary school students helped chant alongside their teachers.

“There's always been kind of like an undercurrent of community members, parents, students, really trying to make significant change in this community,” Biester said, ”And I feel like right now it's just all coming to a head, all the work we've done in different spaces over the last few years is showing up all at once.”

On day two of the strike, organizers hosted a car rally, driving by the district’s administration building with a truck from members of Teamsters Local 455 leading the way in solidarity.

Members of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) showed up in solidarity as well, decorating cars for the car rally. Circe Conway, an FRSO general member and former Starbucks Workers United organizer pointed out, “The more people that join the union, the more people that are eligible for and benefit from the union, the more powerful it’s going to get, and that builds a lot of worker power.”

After the car rally, workers went back to their strike shifts one more time before closing the day out in high spirits.

#EngelwoodCO #CO #Labor #Sheridan #Educators #Strike #Featured

New York, NY – On March 26, around 100 people gathered at 8 a.m. across the street from the Southern District of New York courthouse in solidarity with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores.

Government officials and the defense appeared before a judge to determine whether or not the two could use their own lawyers. The defense argued that the kidnapped couple have a right to due process, and that the entire trial is unconstitutional, violating the 6th Amendment.

The action was organized by a coalition of anti-war organizations in New York City that have been organizing around the Maduro and Flores case since January 3.

Michela Martinazzi of Brooklyn Against War led the protest. Martinazzi told the crowd, “We do not want our tax dollars to go to war, plunder and genocide. We do not want our tax dollars to go to illegal kidnappings of foreign government officials. The Venezuelan people have a right to decide their own future and destinies. It is not up to the United States. We demand that all charges are dropped and that President Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores are returned safely to Venezuela.”

The crowd in the plaza chanted, “From Venezuela to Iran, no more sanctions, no more bombs!” and “Free the prisoners, free them all! Free Maduro from these walls!”

The opposition and anti-Maduro forces showed up as well. They brought with them an effigy of Maduro and hung it from a tree – a disgusting show of cruelty and racism. Many of the opposition resorted to name-calling and slurs as they attacked the pro-Maduro forces. There were a few instances where the opposition tried to enter the protest and disrupt, but the pro-Maduro forces were organized and prepared. They easily pushed out the counter-protesters.

Tom Burke, the organizational secretary of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, said, “Trump’s trial of President Maduro is a political trial meant to portray the upstanding and righteous leader of Venezuela as something else. Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are being punished for standing up to the U.S. empire interfering in their country. The whole world sees Trump and Wall Street attempting to dominate Venezuela’s oil, minerals and economy.”

The protest ended with a march out of the area to end on a high note. While the hearing didn’t determine whether or not Maduro and Flores can use their own funds for their defense, the protesters were resolute in their determination to keep fighting to get the charges dropped.

New York City protesters will be at the Metropolitan Detention Center on April 3 for the three-month anniversary of the kidnapping of President Maduro and First Lady Flores.

#NewYorkNY #NY #International #AntiWarMovement #Vemezuela #Maduro #AWAN #FRSO #BAW #Featured

Seattle, WA — On March 26, eight members of Seattle Against War (SAW), along with allies in the anti-war movement, staged a sit-in at the office of Representative Adam Smith (WA-09). At time of writing, the sit-in is ongoing.

Representative Smith, who claims to oppose Trump’s attacks on Iran, has a track record of voting in favor of every war initiated since entering office in 1997.

“In keeping with this pattern,” wrote Seattle Against War in a press release issued simultaneously with the start of the action, “[Smith] has yet to back up his empty words of opposition with so much as a single piece of action.”

As the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, Representative Smith is a critical player in the approval of military spending, meaning there are real levers of power he holds but does not pull. With the sit-in, SAW emphatically demands that Smith no longer avoid his responsibilities, but put actions behind his empty words and do everything in his power to halt the flow of money to Trump’s war on Iran.

To date, Smith has avoided SAW and refused to address the issues that the group has been bringing to his doorstep.

The United States and Israel’s attack on Iran, which has already cost $31 billion, eats up nearly $12,000 per second.

“The people of the 9th District will not stand idly by while their tax dollars are spent on the slaughtering of others, nor will they let a warmonger like Adam Smith work undisturbed to facilitate it,” said SAW in their press release.

Smith was in Washington D.C. at the time of the sit-in, but SAW members refused to let him off the hook so easily, demanding that his staffers get him on the phone so the group could present him with the following demands:

“Block all spending for Trump’s war on Iran, effective immediately.

“Exercise any and all power held, whether as the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee or as the Representative of Washington’s 9th Congressional District, to end the war on Iran.

“Exercise any and all power held to end the flow of arms to Israel and support an arms embargo.

“Immediately call a hearing for an investigation into U.S. and Israeli war crimes and demand accountability for all responsible.”

Rae Lee, chair of Seattle Against War said, “It is time for Adam Smith to stop talking about opposing Trump and start actually doing it,” adding, “To date, he has not shown himself capable. We demand action and an end to Representative Smith’s continued political and financial support of the illegal war on Iran as well as Israel’s ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people!”

#SeattleWA #WA #Iran #AntiWarMovement #SitIn #SAW #SeattleAgainstWar #Featured

San José, CA – The price of regular gasoline has soared a dollar a gallon on average since Trump ordered this country to war with Iran. According to the American Automobile Association or AAA, the average price has gone from $2.96 a gallon a month ago to $3.98 gallon on March 24, or more than 34%.

How high could they go? No one really knows, but according to my “Trump secretly loves California” theory, since Trump has brought the national price of gas closer where the California price was before the war started ($4.63), it is quite possible that $5 a gallon gasoline could be seen in gas stations across the country in the near future.

But gasoline prices are just the visible “tip of the iceberg” for consumer price inflation. Diesel prices are up 43% since the start of the war, even more in percentage terms than gasoline, and are now more than $5.35 a gallon on average nationwide. While very few individuals have cars that run on diesel, most trucks and farm equipment use diesel fuel. The rise in diesel prices will further squeeze smaller farmers and truckers, while the increase in costs will be showing up in food prices and the prices of almost all goods which are shipped to markets.

The cost of urea, the basic building block for nitrogen fertilizers, is also up 45% since the war started. Part of this is because the in response to the U.S.-Israeli attack and bombing campaign, most the major exporters of urea are either directly affected by the war (Saudi Arabia and Oman), or indirectly, as they (Egypt, China, Malaysia and Indonesia) import the natural and petroleum gas used in urea production from the Mideast. This will squeeze farmers even more, and some of the costs will pass through to higher food prices.

Finally, Qatar is a major producer and exporter of helium, which is a by-product of natural gas production. Helium is used in the production of MRI machines, production of semiconductors, and other industrial uses. Helium prices up 70 to 100%, will likely lead to shortages, depending on how long the war lasts.

While Trump has been saying from the start of the war, more than three weeks ago, that the war is almost over, the fact of the matter is that more than 5000 U.S. troops, both Marines and Army, are on the way to the Middle East, signaling another escalation of the war, with U.S. boots on the ground.

#SanJoseCA #CA #CapitalismAndEconomy #Inflation #Gas #Featured

Santa Ana, CA – On Saturday, March 21, Coach Royal Mobile Home residents protested at the entrance of the mobile home park. The protest was in response to yearslong abuse at the hands of the park managers, eviction, and theft of mobile homes by Kingsley Corporation. There was also a recent suicide of resident Maria Pedraza due to the abuse. The Coach Royal residents are majority working-class immigrants.

The protest started strong with residents and supporters from Community Service Organization Orange County (CSO OC) protesting in front of the Coach Royal entrance. The protesters were chanting and holding signs, making themselves visible to the residents entering and exiting the park.

“Kingsley kills!” “Hands off our homes!” and “Justice for Maria Pedraza!” shouted the protesters.

Luis Pedraza, son of the late Maria Pedraza, spoke first, “My mom committed suicide on February 20, 2026, because of the abuse that she was sustaining from Coach Royal mobile home park that is owned and managed by Kingsley corporation. She worked her whole life to own that home. That was her pride and joy. She bought that home with all of our work.”

The protesters and passersby leaned in as Pedraza recounted stories of his late mother, “We lived in all kinds of states: in a single room, in a tiny garage. I didn’t have Christmas or New Years with my mom because she was working. I wish I had that. But we do have that house and Kingsley is trying to steal that from us.” The protesters chanted in unison, “Shame!”

“It is not fair for them to be doing this here or anywhere in the country. This is happening everywhere in the country but this needs to stop and needs to change. That’s how things happen in this county. We move, operate, get together, we become one movement and then things change,” ended Pedraza.

Victor Fuentes is another Coach Royal resident who is facing eviction. He took off his sun hat before speaking to reveal a large scar with stitches running all across his scalp. “We are all here to put an end to retaliation, repression and harassment. My family and I have been evicted. We all do things we regret and to de-stress myself I began to drink. I had a great fall and don’t recommend using it to drown out your thoughts and worries. I am the provider of my family and now I can’t keep a roof over my family's head.”

Fuentes continued, “I came to give this testimony because enough is enough. Enough of stomping their foot over our necks. They are trying to silence us. This must stop. What else do we have to lose? For everyone here, it costs them so much to own their homes. They are shamelessly stealing our homes. It is unjust. We are demanding justice. We need to fight because if even one of us refuses to fight they will keep trampling over us!”

The protesters erupted in chants, “Stop the evictions! Stop the harassment! Stop the threats!”.

The last speaker was Karla García, who was evicted from her home for helping other Coach Royal residents fight for their home titles. “I tried helping out other residents and I was punished for it. The corporation once again came to my home and told me that if I did help out others I would end up homeless. They started harassing, bullying and threatening me. I was attacked every single day until they took everything from me.”

The protest ended with Guadalupe Barragan on a megaphone marching through the Coach Royal neighborhoods urging the residents to stand up and fight back. A meeting was held later in the evening for residents and CSO members to strategize on what the next steps will be in the fight for justice for the Coach Royal residents.

#SantaAnaCA #CA #OrangeCounty #PeoplesStruggles #CSO #Featured

Greeley, CO – On March 16, 3800 members of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 7 went on strike at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado. The union members walked out of their shift at 5:30 a.m. to picket the plant.

This strike marks the first time in over 40 years that workers at a major meat packer went on strike for a better contract. This came after management’s final offer of a 30-cent raise, with 22 cents going towards healthcare benefits. Workers were dissatisfied with all offers from the company’s side, and 99% authorized to strike.

At least 1200 members walked the picket line the morning the strike started. Chants were being yelled out to the crowd, including “When we fight, we win” and “Sí se puede.” Union staffers and organizers kept members in high morale with hand warmers and water, and kept the crowd organized with megaphones, directing members to strategic areas around the plant.

Leticia Avalos, a member of UFCW Local 7, said, “Most of all, the strike is to make a statement to the company, that their members are tired of the mistreatment that they get – because not only is it in the contract or some safety issues they [the company] have been doing, but also the treatment that [workers] get. They get yelled at, they’re told that they have to wait to go to the restroom, and when you have to go you have to go.”

Members also cited other issues of safety, including a short supply of safety equipment supplied by the company with members having to purchase it themselves to stay safe.

Katherine Draken, of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, attended the event in support of the striking workers. Draken said, “These workers have shown incredible militancy rejecting JBS's pathetic contract proposal. Everyone who supports worker power and militancy should be out here to support this.”

Another supporter of the strike, Salem Chadwick, a member of Teamsters for a Democratic Union, said, “The JBS fight is connected to our fights. When we see unions win big, it inspires workers all over to fight the boss and win too.”

At 1:30 p.m., members switched shifts, with the second shift of strikers holding the line until 10:30 that night. Spirits were high on day one of the strike.

#GreelyCO #CO #UFCW #Labor #Strike #Featured

Portland, OR – On Saturday, March 7, Portland For Palestine (P4P) organized a rally to oppose the U.S. war on Iran. The protest comes in the wake of continuing aggression against Iran led by a U.S.-Israel coalition. About 75 people joined in, including Iranians, who had come to voice their objection to unilateral strikes against their homeland.

This is the second such action P4P has organized in as many weeks as the news from the region becomes more and more grim. Protesters held signs that read, “U.S. hands off Iran.”

P4P organizer Judas Graves said, “Even though the demonstration had many different communities in Portland attend, we are all affected by the murder machine currently operated by the U.S. and Israel.” Graves continued, “Understanding what we’ve done to Iran and her people for nearly 100 years clearly shows how we have ended up where we are today.”

Kacey DeSantis, organizer for P4P said, “To me it's not aa complicated conclusion to draw; I think this war is a waste of money and displays the U.S.'s disregard for human rights and diplomacy.”

The energy of the crowd was boisterous and defiant as protesters demanded an end to aggression against sovereign nations while conditions domestically get worse.

Adding to the drama of the day was a small contingent of far right-wing counter-protesters. DeSantis said, “There was a lot of commotion and noise from right-wing agitators, but the crowd kept up very loud and consistent chanting! Every time the agitators would get quiet, the sound of the crowd was deafening.”

The main agitator in question, Tommy Allen, has been known to assault protesters with pepper spray, unprovoked. The Portland Police Bureau stood idly by as Allen sprayed at least three organizers and three protesters without warning.

P4P is determined to keep organizing their community to lift up their voices in opposition to U.S. wars, no matter what the brutal and backwards opposition has to say about it.

#PortlandOR #OR #AntiWarMovement #Iran #Featured

Washington, D.C. – On February 28, DC residents awoke to the news that the Trump administration had begun a bombing campaign on Iran overnight. Within hours, the DC Against the Trump Agenda Coalition (DCATA) made the call for people of conscience in the DMV area to join in protest at the White House.

DCATA had been preparing for a US strike against Iran for weeks, connecting organizations in advance to mobilize within 24 hours of a strike. 32 organizations demanded, “No war with Iran!” with DCATA at the helm. A few hundred people started gathering towards Lafayette Square, as close as you can get to the White House due to the barricades, at the start of the rally. Protesters were carrying Iranian and Palestinian flags, as well as signs reading, “No bombs on Iran!” and “U.S. out of Iran!”

The organizers of the rally began their program on the bed of a pickup truck with emcees from DCATA and Palestinian Youth Movement DMV.

Merawi Gerima, a member of the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (DCAARPR) and DCATA, started the protest stating, “Unity of action, not of ideas! That’s exactly how we’re gonna stop the United States from pulling us into another war.”

The emcee from PYM DMV stated, “They’re sending Americans to die on behalf of the rich. Americans have made it clear that they do not want another war!”

Elizabeth Paige White, a movement lawyer with the DC Lawyers Against the Trump Agenda (DCLATA) told the crowd, “Donald Trump’s lawlessness has extended to every single resident here. I’m in court every single day defending people who were wrongfully – illegally – arrested, searched, shot at, and almost killed in this city because of these illegal police gangs, these feds riding around with MPD, violating our rights day in and day out. Why do we expect [Trump] to do differently around this country and around the world?”

Earlier that day, 50501DC and others organized a March for Democracy that started on the National Mall. As the DCATA program continued, over 1000 people from the March For Democracy joined the No War on Iran protest. At this point, organizers knew they had to march. As the truck carrying the lead emcees started moving, droves of MPD flooded the streets, and tried their hardest to impede the march. Quickly thinking, organizers stripped the truck of its audio equipment and proceeded on foot, leading the people to the Department of State building to condemn Trump and Marco Rubio’s attacks.

A member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization – DC also spoke during the march, “I think it’s very ironic that Trump billed himself as the ‘anti-war’ president, and here we are, one year into his regime, and where do we stand? We see that he is funding Netanyahu and funding genocide in Palestine. We see that he has kidnapped the president of Venezuela. He has now created war with Iran. He is threatening war with the greater Middle East. He’s threatening war with China. This president doesn’t know the meaning of anti-war – all he knows is war!”

Thousands of people marched down the streets of DC protesting attacks on Iran, Palestine, Cuba and Venezuela, as well as immigrants and Black people in the U.S. MPD continuously tried to thwart the march by blocking their path at every turn; however, the people stood firm, and marched right through them. The march ended at the Department of State building, and the program closed out with a few more speakers.

#WashingtonDC #AntiWarMovement #Iran #DCATA #DCAARPR #PYM #FRSO #Featured

The United States and Israel are waging a war on Iran. It is a war that is unjust and unprovoked. There have been widespread civilian casualties in Tehran and other cities, including reports of 85 schoolchildren dead in Minab.

This is a war that the U.S chose. Trump walked away from negotiations, then enlisted apartheid Israel, and now, bombs and missiles are raining down on schools and TV stations. Iran has every right to respond.

This year comes in a context. The decline of U.S. imperialism is accelerating. Trump is trying to preserve the dying U.S. empire, and control of the Middle East is a part of that project. Last year the U.S. and Israel waged a failed 12-day war that was meant to break Iran.

Now they are back again for another try. Along with his partner in crime Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump will face more defeat and failure – if not sooner, then later. Either way they will meet the fate of the paper tigers that have gone before them.

Iran is charting an independent course. It stands at the center of an axis of resistance that includes the progressive, patriotic forces of Palestine, Yemen, Lebanon and Iraq. The free people of the Middle East won’t live under U.S. domination. They are determined to end the genocidal occupation of the Zionists. So, the defenders of empire will have their hands full.

Here in the U.S., progressives and revolutionaries need to go all out, uniting all who can be united to end the war on Iran. What the U.S. and Israel are doing to Iran is crime, and it needs to be judged accordingly.

Trump is now talking about regime change. The truth of the matter is that we do need a regime change – a regime change in Washington DC. As we oppose the war on Iran, and build a broad front against Trump, we can and will make the U.S. ungovernable.

#Iran #AntiWarMovement #Palestine #Trump #International #Featured #FRSO #Statement

There’s no system better at crushing dreams than monopoly capitalism.

When Claudia Jones' parents immigrated to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago in 1922, “they hoped to find their fortunes in America where ‘gold was to be found on the streets.’” (Autobiographical History, Claudia Jones).

Instead, they found poverty, Jim Crow oppression, and despair.

These evils disillusioned Claudia Jones and showed her the hypocrisy of the so-called American Dream. She would become a Marxist-Leninist organizer, theorist and revolutionary.

After joining the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), Jones never stopped fighting against U.S. imperialism. In her article “An End to the Neglect of the Problems of Negro Women”(1949), Jones analysis analyzes the special status of Black women under U.S. imperialism and teaches organizers exactly how to fight back.

The proletarianization of Black women in the United States

“Negro women – as workers, as Negroes, and as women – are the most oppressed stratum of the whole population. In 1940, two out of every five Negro women, in contrast to two out of every eight white women, worked for a living. By virtue of their majority status among the Negro people, Negro women not only constitute the largest percentage of women heads of families but are the main breadwinners of the Negro family.” (from “An End to the Neglect of the Problems of Negro Women”)

Capitalism’s super-exploitation of African Americans forced Black women to proletarianize and join the working class. Black working women were often forced to do domestic work, completing household chores for white families and then coming back home to complete more chores for their own family. Unionization and legal protections did not extend to most domestic workers.

It wasn’t until World War II, where the U.S. needed to recruit new workers to the industries as hundreds of thousands of former workers went off to fight in the war, were Black women finally allowed to do some skilled work and explore other fields due to the necessity for industry to hire new workers.

These obstacles, including political and legal repression, lynching, rape, and many other layers of exploitation, need to be at the foundation of any serious analysis of the conditions of Black women in the U.S.

No women’s liberation without Black liberation

Despite this fact, political organizations that fight for women still ignore the importance of class and the necessity of national liberation. Jones criticizes the behavior of suffragettes and white petty-bourgeois women for ignoring the African American struggle in their fight for women's liberation in the 20th century.

Again from “An End to Neglect,” “it was the historic shortcoming of the women's suffrage leaders, predominantly drawn as they were from the bourgeoisie and the petty-bourgeoisie, that they failed to link their own struggles to the struggles for the full democratic rights of the Negro people following emancipation.”

Progressives in the fight for women’s liberation ignored the reality that there is no women’s liberation without national liberation.

These same attitudes appear today, albeit under different arguments with different terminologies. Postmodernist ideology, popular among petty-bourgeois revolutionaries and academics in particular, attempts to convince organizers within the movement to view the struggles for women’s liberation, working class liberation, and Black liberation in competition with each other.

In J. Syke’s article “On the Origin and Development of Postmodernism,” he explains how postmodern ideology cannot recognize the principal issue around struggles for liberation and limits people’s thinking to subjective and one-sided analyses.

Sykes notes, “The basis of the postmodern idea [is] that truth isn’t objective, but rather, that truth is socially constructed… [postmodernists believe] that any given “discourse” should “stay in its lane” since it isn’t capable of understanding where the others are coming from. In other words, we have no universal, shared experience. This mentality leads to subjectivism and relativism, and an inability to strategically unite different struggles. Further, it makes it impossible to name any particular struggle as the principal contradiction that drives the process, which we could leverage to maximize our effectiveness across struggles.”

Postmodernism divides while Marxism-Leninism unites. Instead of showing the historical connections that prove there is a basis for unity among all working-class women and focusing on the fact that Black liberation struggles’ unity with working class struggles have created progress and real victories for the people’s movement in the United States, postmodernism pits the masses against each other.

Discourse is centered around criticizing white people as a homogenous whole with the same political and social interests or an assumed shared consciousness. This abstract, eclectic argument refuses to acknowledge that the multinational working class as a whole can be won to support the national liberation movements’ struggles, meaning there is a material interest for all working-class women when it comes to fighting against national oppression.

Only the struggle for a socialist society, where the working class has the power and self-interest to abolish oppression against all exploited and oppressed people, can erase the contradictions at the root of the problems Black women in the U.S. face.

Black women bring the Black Belt Nation forward

In the 1940s, Black working-class women played a huge role not only in mass organizations, but in labor struggles as well. As both workers and wives of workers, Black women’s militancy and struggle helped develop the struggle against poor working conditions, mistreatment, and national oppression on the shop floor.

At the same time, it was still unusual for Black women to be in positions of leadership within unions and mass organizations. Claudia Jones used her writing to combat manifestations of white chauvinism and fight against the tendency seen in the labor movement to dismiss the leadership capabilities of Black working-class women. She stressed that the advanced Black women could pull intermediate elements of the African American masses to engage in the fight against imperialism.

Jones wrote, “The strong capacities, militancy, and organizational talents of Negro women, can… be a powerful lever for bringing forward Negro workers-men and women-as the leading forces of the Negro people's liberation movement… and for rooting the Party among the most exploited and oppressed sections of the working class and its allies.”

For a communist party to avoid opportunist and self-serving positions and remain dedicated to its role as the party of the working class, it's necessary to recruit leaders and allies who have a deep antagonism against the capitalist system that develops the consciousness, determination and drive to end it. Black women often face the greatest humiliation, disrespect and discrimination from the monopoly capitalist class. This mistreatment and oppression helps to create driven and disciplined revolutionaries.

Greater than a dream

Capitalism crushed the dreams of a young Claudia Jones.

That didn’t stop Jones from organizing and fighting back against the rotten system she correctly understood as the greatest threat to national liberation domestically and internationally. Even after she was deported from the U.S. for her organizing, she remained a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain until her death in 1964.

The conclusions Jones reaches in her article still apply to the struggle for the multinational working class and the national liberation movement today. Black working-class women’s unique issues cannot be understood as isolated, abstract concepts. Revolutionaries must continue to deepen their understanding of the special status of oppression of Black women and all oppressed women.

No matter the consequences, Claudia Jones never stopped fighting for freedom. Her writing and organizing continue to pave the road for socialism, the only system that can abolish national exploitation and oppression forever.

It is the responsibility of communists in the U.S. to erase the illusions of all oppressed people in the belly of the beast and prepare them for struggle. The struggle for Black liberation and women’s liberation is something far greater than a dream: it’s a reality, something that can be done and will be done, especially if we listen to the guidance of the revolutionaries that came before us.

Delilah Pierre is a member of the LGBTQ and Women's Movement Work Team of Freedom Road Socialist Organization

#RevolutionaryTheory #ClaudiaJones #WomensMovement #AfricanAmerican #OppressedNationalities #CPUSA #Featured

The attack took place on the morning of February 25, against a surface unit of the Border Guard Troops of the Ministry of the Interior, in the northeast area of the El Pino canal, in Cayo Falcones, Corralillo municipality, Villa Clara province.

According to preliminary statements by those detained by the Cuban government, they had intentions to carry out an infiltration for terrorist purposes.

Aboard the speedboat the men had in their possession assault rifles, handguns, Molotov cocktails, bulletproof vests, telescopic devices and camouflage uniforms.

The Cuban Ministry of the Interior released a statement identifying the individuals as Amijail Sánchez González, Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez, Conrado Galindo Sariol, José Manuel Rodríguez Castelló, Cristian Ernesto Acosta Guevara, and Roberto Azcorra Consuegra. Among the deceased was Michel Ortega Casanova. Work is being done to identify the other three.

Those identified so far are Cubans living in the United States, most of them with a known history of criminal and violent activity, including Amijail Sánchez González and Leordan Enrique Cruz Gómez. Both men appear on the national list of persons and entities that, by virtue of Resolution 1373 of the United Nations Security Council, international law and Cuban legal system, have been subjected to criminal investigations and are sought by the Cuban authorities, based on their involvement in the promotion, planning, organization, financing, support or commission of actions materialized in the national territory or in other countries, based on acts of terrorism.

Duniel Hernández Santos has been identified by Cuban authorities as an on-island accomplice. Authorities report that he has confessed to being sent from the United States to guarantee the reception of the armed infiltration.

First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez said in a public statement, “We have stated this on repeated occasions and we reaffirm it today: Cuba will defend itself with determination and firmness against any terrorist and mercenary aggression that seeks to affect its sovereignty and national stability.”

Attacks like this have occurred before. The United States government has used attacks like these in the past in an attempt to destabilize and overthrow the popular and democratically determined Cuban government.

After 1959 the CIA recruited and trained thousands of Cuban exiles in Miami to infiltrate or invade Cuba. This preparation was for the operation which would take place in the Bay of Pigs in April 1961, when Brigade 2506 landed by sea in a failed U.S.-organized invasion.

After the Bay of Pigs, Kennedy authorized Operation Mongoose, a secret government program that included plans for speedboat raids, sabotage and assassination, using Cuban exile groups as proxies. CIA Director Allen Dulles oversaw U.S. financial support to give to exile political groups, which it was subsidizing at a level of $90,000 per month ($999,067.58 in 2026 dollars).

The Trump administration has continued this legacy of aggression toward Cuba. On January 29, Trump signed Executive Order 14380, declaring a national emergency “with respect to Cuba” and placing tariffs on imports from any country that sells or provides oil to the Cuban state. This is on top of the U.S, blockade to stop almost all trade, banking and investment between U.S. entities and Cuba, and to coerce other countries and companies away from trading with Cuba.

People from all over the world have long opposed the blockade on Cuba, from the streets of Chicago to Havana and echoed in the halls of the UN by the world majority, against the stranglehold that the United States imposes on the world. Voices from all around the globe cry out for an end to the blockade.

#DenverCO #CO #International #Cuba #Featured

Washington, D.C. – On Tuesday, February 24, a group of organizers and activists from Freedom Road Socialist Organization – DC (FRSO DC) and the DC Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (DCAARPR) gathered in downtown DC within earshot of the U.S. Capitol building to protest Trump’s State of the Union address.

With a single mic in hand and the capitol framed in the background, the group denounced Trump’s racist policies including attacks on immigrants, workers, Black people, LGBTQ people, and countries like Venezuela, Cuba and Iran.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) had all of the roads within a few miles of the capitol blocked off, but the group was stationed right up to the barricades. They were met with droves of police, the press, supporters from the public, and one increasingly irate man who continuously screamed, “I love ICE!” His cries were deafened by the sound of the people chanting, “Chinga la migra!”

The program started right before and continued through Trump’s State of the Union address.

Merawi Gerima, a DC native, and organizer with DCAARPR, stated, “We are here tonight because Trump is in that rotunda tonight lying to the American people about all the things he’s doing. He’s claimed to be the bringer of peace to the world, he’s claimed to be bringing jobs to the United States, he’s claiming to be bringing peace to the streets of DC, and we know that’s a lie!”

Gerima continued, “It is our duty, and it is our right, to do everything in our power to make this country ungovernable. To make it impossible for them to continue to exploit us, and kill us, and brutalize us and everyone else around the planet. To [make it impossible] to crack open these countries for their profits. We have every right and every duty to stop that from happening, and that’s exactly what we’re doing right here in Washington, DC”

Christina Murdoch, a member of Freedom Road Socialist Organization, spoke on the Trump administration’s attacks against the LGBTQ community, explaining a backwards policy they are trying to institute with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Murdoch stated, “The new policy aims to strip the over 2200 trans people currently held in federal prisons of their access to medically necessary healthcare. They would be subjected to constant misgendering by staff and have all of their gender-affirming items such as binders, bras, and makeup confiscated. First off, fuck you Donald Trump. If you think for a moment that any of us are going to stand by and let you do this to anyone in our beloved trans community, you are wrong.”

#DC #WashingtonDC #FRSO #DCAARPR #Trump #Featured

Austin, TX – On Sunday, February 22 at 3 p.m., around a dozen people gathered in front of Austin City Hall to demand that the city create a policy preventing local police from collaborating with ICE. People driving by honked and shouted in support as they saw the group holding a banner reading, “ICE out! Legalization for all.”

Jesse Valdelamar of La Frontera Unida said that the group showed up “to protest against the collaboration taking place between the Austin Police Department and ICE.”

On February 5, the Austin Police Department (APD) held a community meeting concerning policy changes over how APD officers will interact with ICE. Valdelamar called this meeting “nothing more than a PR stunt,” and he said, “Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis knew that no reordering of her words will ever change the fact that APD, and the city council, have capitulated completely to the racist and Republican-controlled state legislature without a fight.”

Valdelamar continued, “The city of Austin ended its contract with Flock, a company that sells license plate reader technology and is known to give its surveillance data to ICE. Despite this, APD continues to use Flock cameras maintained by two neighboring agencies in Round Rock and Sunset Valley.”

La Frontera Unida, the organization that called the protest, is starting a campaign to prevent this and other collaboration between APD and ICE.

Jake Holtzman of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization said, “At the end of the day, as we continue to fight against ICE terror and Trump’s racist agenda, we also recognize that Trump represents an entire rotten system – the system of monopoly capitalism. This whole system must be overthrown!”

Holtzman continued, “So let’s unite to stop the deportations, and stop the raids. Let’s build the mass movement together to kick ICE out of Austin, ICE out of everywhere, and win legalization for all!”

#AustinTX #TX #ImmigrantRights #LFU #FRSO #ICE #Featured

Oxford, MS – On February 21, around a dozen students and youth gathered at the Pavilion at the University of Mississippi to discuss setting up a Students for a Democratic Society chapter.

This meeting comes after two days of organizing from students and SDS officers who traveled from Louisiana and Minnesota in order to help establish new SDS chapters. These SDS members set up a table, covered it in flyers, sign-up sheets, and printed resolutions, and draped a banner over it that read: “Keep ICE off campus! Stand up to Trump! Sanctuary campus now!”

The table was the talk of the campus. A constant flow of students and even faculty approached the table both days. Some students took pictures with the banners; many asked if there was a petition to sign.

One professor and the members of the local Turning Point (TPUSA) eventually came to harass the SDS table. At the provocations about ICE from the professor, students surged up to the table to argue with her on SDS' behalf. One young man from TPUSA barked at Chrisley Carpio, a National SDS officer, and Mae Guidry of LUNO SDS in New Orleans, to “be quiet” and said the SDS was “full of crazy women.” One student came up to him and got into his face, telling Carpio and Guidry she was there to “make sure nothing happened.”

In less than eight hours of tabling, over 60 students signed the interest sheets.

“Building strong organizations that are committed to direct action is what we need in this moment,” said Mae Guidry of LUNO SDS. “We came to Ole Miss to garner interest in bringing SDS here because we understand how Trump's attacks can directly impact the South and to strengthen a national student movement. It's important to have staunch organizers ready to respond to reactionary university administrators like those at Ole Miss as they continue to roll back the rights and protections of students under the cover of the Trump administration.”

At both the table and in the SDS meeting, students told the tale of Lauren Stokes, a professor who was fired for her social media reaction to Charlie Kirk's death on her private Instagram. She is now suing the chancellor of the University of Mississippi, and the new SDS students expressed a desire to hold protests in her defense at the hearings. Another idea floated at the meeting was a continuous protest presence denouncing any arrival of ICE agents.

“There's definitely a clear, reactionary presence on campus, and those students feel like they can do whatever they want. They felt comfortable enough to host JD Vance to speak on campus, and this is not a sentiment across most of the university. We want to make that clear to our administration,” said Lauren Fuller, a student at the University of Mississippi.

#OxfordMS #MS #StudentMovement #SDS #Featured

Los Angeles, CA – “Thank you to all for the support of the Teamster and beloved Centro CSO member Sam Carrera. Through the combined hard work, the LA District Attorney Nathan Hochman rejected the case against Carrera. Carrera was one of three arrested by LAPD on February 18,” noted a statement from the Chicano community group Centro Community Service Organization.

On the evening of February 18, LAPD Hollenbeck Division officers brutally assaulted and arrested multiple members of CSO. Sergio Flores, Sam Carrera and a minor individual were beaten with batons, shoved, and, without warning, arrested.

CSO members were leaving their monthly public meeting when LAPD responded to a mental health situation. The incident was directly outside of the meeting location, which is at Boyle Heights City Hall. A mentally ill man was holding a metal pipe and LAPD responded with weapons drawn and pointed at the man. After LAPD eventually arrested the man, CSO members were trying to get to their cars in the parking lot when the LAPD prevented them from going home. When tension rose between LAPD and CSO members, the officers attacked, clubbing and knocking over members of the crowd.

After the arrests, CSO and allies mobilized: two emergency protests, a call-in to the LAPD Metro jail, and a national call-in to pressure District Attorney Nathan Hochman to release Sam Carrera. That call was put out by the Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR), with assistance from Freedom Road Socialization Organization.

Calls poured in all day to Nathan Hochman, filling the inbox multiple times. Due to the efforts of those who participated and protested, the CSO 3 are free

But the fight is not over. Sam Carrera could still be charged at any time. And LAPD Hollenbeck police have zeroed in on the Flores family.

Sergio Flores is being charged with a felony, 405(APC), but has done nothing wrong. LAPD Hollenbeck division murdered Jeremy Anthony Flores, the younger brother of Sergio Flores, in cold-blood on July 14, 2025. The Flores Family has been fierce in their fight for justice, and LAPD Hollenbeck is feeling the pressure. This is why they attacked the CSO meeting attendees. CSO will mobilize until the bogus charges on Sergio Flores are dropped.

Three other CSO members have been previously attacked by the government: Carlos Montes, Verita Topete and Alejandro Orellana. None of them did anything wrong. CSO asks that all who are interested in joining the fight to ensure that the charges on Sergio Flores be dropped now, stay connected with them. There will be many more events to follow.

Drop the charges now on Sergio Flores! Victory for the CSO 3!

#LosAngelesCA #CA #InJusticeSystem #OppressedNationalities #ChicanoLatino #CentroCSO #Featured

Portland, OR – On February 18, immigrant rights organization Portland Contra Las Deportaciones (PDXCD) held a rally at city hall to demand city council take immediate action to revoke the permit for the Portland ICE facility. The event turned into a violent suppression of protest by the Portland Police Bureau, with multiple arrests.

The night began with high tensions as local right-wingers antagonized protesters at the rally by yelling “I love ICE” in megaphones and the unprovoked pepper spraying of five activists. At the same time, city hall security came out and told Cole Dunahugh, a regular protester at city hall, that he was “trespassed” from the building and not allowed to enter. When documentation was requested, it was not provided. The right-wingers who assaulted protesters were allowed to enter city hall.

Activists were not deterred, continued chanting and refused to allow the reactionaries to silence their message.

After the rally, protesters entered the chambers and provided compelling testimony demanding the council take action to shut down the ICE facility and called out the councilors’ hypocrisy.

“The fact that some of you have the audacity to ride the wave of ‘Abolish ICE’ while you unironically have argued and defended keeping the Macadam ICE facility open for the sake of immigrants might be the worst of your offenses,” said Elijah Thahir, referencing many of the councilors’ claims that the facility must be kept open to “serve” immigrants.

The city administrator was asked to give an update on the ICE facility, which has been issued a violation for holding detainees past a 12-hour limit. The enforcement process was stalled for five months while the city granted the landlord multiple extensions on an appeal. Only recently did the city deny the landlord’s appeal, after PDXCD protested at the mayor’s house and at the office of permitting and development.

As the city administrator gave excuses for the inaction of the city, those in the chambers chanted, “Revoke the permit.”

Susan Anglada-Bartley, the original creator of the petition to revoke the permit, walked up to the desks of the councilors with a printout of all 19,000 signatures on a petition to revoke the permit. She was placed in a chokehold by security and physically assaulted.

At this point, City Council President Jamie Dunphy immediately shut down the meeting, ordered security to remove protesters, and all the councilors left the room to reconvene the meeting online.

Protesters continued to stay in the chambers, chanting for around 30 minutes. At this point around 30 police officers entered city hall and arrested Anglada-Bartley. The rest of the protesters linked arms and refused to move, and were violently pushed down a flight of stairs out of city hall by the police. Madison Delsanter and Henry Roloff were arrested for “trespassing,” despite being confined in a space they could not leave by police.

On the other side of the building, Cole Dunahugh was also arrested for “trespassing” despite the fact he was never allowed to enter the building.

Protesters immediately moved the protest from city hall to the nearby jail and held a rally to demand the release of the four detained activists. Three of the activists were released the same night, and one the next day. All face charges.

Rather than apologize for their use of force to suppress the free speech of Portlanders, city council members and the Portland Police Bureau doubled down the next day.

Councilor Loretta Smith posted on her Facebook calling the protest a “mini insurrection” and told press she is drafting legislation to allow councilors to open carry in meetings with the public, implying she would shoot immigrant rights protesters.

The Portland police held a press conference to justify their use of force where Police Chief Bob Day stated he sent “nearly every available officer” working in the city at the time to attack the protesters. He attempted to blame protesters for this egregious attempt to silence First Amendment rights by stating this was a “drain on the city's resources.”

“Why is Bob Day blaming his irresponsible act of over-policing and violence on protesters?” questioned Kacey DeSantis, “It was completely unnecessary for him to send any police officers to prevent the city council from hearing from its constituents. He should be ashamed.”

PDXCD will hold a press conference and protest on February 20, before the arraignments of Dunahugh, Anglada Bartley and Madison Delsanter. They demand that all the charges are dropped, that the city of Portland stop criminalizing free speech, and take action to shut down the ICE facility.

#PortlandOR #OR #ImmigrantRights #PDXCD #PoliceBrutality #Featured